LOT 0259

Urartu Bull-Headed Bronze Cauldron Applique

8TH CENTURY B.C.

5 1/4 in. (437 grams, 13.4 cm).

Formed as D-shaped wings and a tail with low-relief feather detailing and holes to accept rivets; central head and neck of a bull with prominent horns, bands of curly hair to the plate and throat, large scaphoid eyes, incised contour detailing to muzzle, socket to reverse.

From the warehouse of Lane Hope Ltd, London, UK, 1980s (company dissolved December 1991).
Private collection, UK; anonymous sale, Gorny & Mosch, Munich, Auction 206, 20 June 2012, no.85 (Part).
European private collection, acquired from the above.

Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate, no.6210.AM.
Accompanied by a copy of the relevant Gorny & Mosch catalogue pages.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate no.12696-234610.

Cf. Mildenburg Collection, no.18 (Reign of Argishti II, King of Urartu, 713-685 B.C.); also see Sotheby's, New York, 17 December 1998, no.218, for a similar single example ($25,000-$35,000).

The fitting would have formed part of a group of four around the rim of a large bronze cauldron. Urartu was centred in eastern Anatolia, around Lake Van; the capital, Tushpa, was located on the eastern shore, situated on a high and elongated rock outcrop. Most sites boasted a well-built temple situated at the highest point, as well as a number of large storage rooms containing rows of large vessels for storing oil and grains, and massive, well-built fortification walls.